


Like The Other Guys

by socialgraceful



Category: Degrassi the Next Generation
Genre: Platonic Female/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21686308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socialgraceful/pseuds/socialgraceful
Summary: Marco wants to be tougher so he turns to the toughest person that he knows to teach him: Alex.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Like The Other Guys

“Can I go on the record and say that this is a stupid idea,” Alex said.  
“Come on, Alex, you’re doing me a big favor and besides, I told you that I would buy you lunch for the rest of the week,” Marco replied.  
“Okay, how do you want to do this?”  
“I figure you can just like, tackle or roughhouse with me or something.”  
“Yeah, that won’t look weird at all if anyone finds us.”  
Alex looked around at the empty gym. She had been dragged here by Marco because of his request to help him toughen up. She wondered why he had asked her and not one of the other boys that he knew. He had told her it was because she was tougher than all of them. He had heard about her fight against Emma and how she had just kind of taken a knee to the face in stride. She had started to walk away when he made her the offer to pay for her lunch.  
“This is so stupid,” Alex said. “Why do you want to do this, anyway?”  
“I need get tough. I never had brothers or anything so I don’t know how to like handle getting hit or anything like that,” he said.  
“Ugh, okay, fine.”  
She looked around. There was no one around and they were in the corner farthest away from the doors.  
“Okay, how do you want to start?” Marco said.  
Alex’s fist connected with the bridge of his nose before he could even finish the sentence. Marco’s head snapped backwards and he steadied himself on his feet.  
“What the hell was that?” he demanded.  
“You think someone’s going to tell you before they punch you in the face?” Alex asked.  
“Okay, fair enough. Ow.”  
“See, that’s the pain you’re paying me for. Now, I want you to breath through it. In and out. In and out.”  
“Okay.”  
“That’s the worst of it. Once your feel it, once you know it, it doesn’t hurt as much.”  
“Really?”  
“If that’s all you’re afraid of what else is there? You’ve already experienced it.”  
“Got it.”  
“How’re you doing?”  
“Better. The pain is going away.”  
“Good.”  
She then spear tackled him to the ground.  
“Come on! I put the mats down for a reason!” Marco yelled.  
“You think someone’s going to knock you onto a mat?” Alex asked him.  
“No, god.”  
Marco started to get up and when he had made his way back to his feet, Alex hooked the back of his ankle with her foot and sent him down onto his back. He let out a loud exhalation of breath as he hit his back into the ground. Once he took in another deep breath, Alex walked over him, making sure to place her foot on his stomach.  
He took a few moments and then climbed to his feet only to have Alex tackle him back to the ground. She went through just about everything, she knew, putting him into various holds and giving him nuggies, Indian burns and generally being a jerk to him. Eventually, he called it before she drew blood.  
“There you go,” she said. “You have been professionally bullied.”  
“Thanks,” Marco said doubled over.  
“That sucked. I hated every moment of it.”  
“I’m sure you did.”  
“I don’t like hurting people, Marco.”  
“Well, thanks anyway. I feel like I had a big brother for the last half hour. I feel like one of the other guys for a while.”  
“Is that what this was about?”  
“Yeah, I mean, kind of.”  
Some people had a slow burn to anger. Alex had never known that slow rising feeling. It was always a hot white flash and then there she was. She had arrived.  
“Why would you want to be like one of those guys!?” she yelled at him.  
Marco jumped backwards at the force of her anger. What they had done before had hurt him but he hadn’t been scared. Now, he was terrified.  
“You want to be like one of the guys. Well, you’re not. You’re not like them at all. You’re kind and sweet and soft. You don’t say shitty things to girls and you care about everyone. Those other guys suck. They’re terrible but you want to be like them. You want to be like Jay and Spinner and those guys who...” she said but stopped herself with a bite of her bottom lip and then a shake of her head. “Those guys aren’t people to want to be like, Marco. They should all be trying to be like you. Cause you’re better than them. You’re evolved. And it’s not because you’re gay. It’s because you’re you.”  
She spit on the floor as punctuation. She then walked over to the bleachers and flopped onto them. Marco stared at her and she glared back at him, he then let out a long sigh. He went and sat beside her.  
“Look, the real reason that I wanted to do this was because when I was still figuring out that I was gay, I got hurt. And I figured if I could learn how to take it, it wouldn’t hurt so much the next time,” Marco said.  
Alex stared at him for a long minute and then leaned her head back.  
“Marco, you’re so dumb and frustrating!” she yelled to the ceiling but lowered her voice and continued. “You don’t prepare to get beat up. You prepare to fight. Not that you should. You should just run and find me or take me with you if you’re going somewhere sketchy. You’re a softie. You’re not built for fighting.”  
Alex got up and started stretching.  
“I’m not going to teach you how to lose a fight,” she said. “But I will teach you how to defend yourself. Get up.”  
Marco jumped to his feet.  
“Okay,” he said.  
“Now, make a fist,” she said.  
He did. Alex sighed and took his fist in her hand, pulling it apart and remaking it.  
“You don’t put your thumb there,” she said. “That’s a good way to break it.”  
“Right,” Marco said.  
“Now, turn, make sure that they have a smaller target to hit. There.”  
“Got it.”  
“Now when you punch you want to pivot, the strength actually comes from the back foot.”  
“If you know so much about fighting how did you lose to Emma?”  
“Bitch, I will knock you back down. Also, she’s kind of feral like those animals she loves. Kind of hard to know what she’s going to do.”  
The two practiced for the rest of the afternoon. Afterwards, they walked home and some kids said something to Marco. Alex yelled at them loud enough that they crossed the street without looking.


End file.
